The National Football League (NFL) has come under fire for how the league, specifically Roger Goodell, has handled the multiple domestic violence cases from several high-profile players.
The specific mishandling of the case involving Ray Rice and his then fiancé, Janay Palmer, could potentially lead to the dismissal of Goodell from his position as commissioner.
The major tipping point in the Ray Rice ruling has come in recent weeks when TMZ released chilling security footage taken in an elevator. The video clearly showed Rice connecting a left hook to Palmer, knocking her unconscious, and then dragging her by the feet out the elevator.
After the video reached the public, Goodell moved to suspend Rice indefinitely, and the Ravens terminated his contract. The public outcry from seeing the video was the sole reason Rice’s punishment moved from a two-game suspension to being out of a job.
When Goodell took over commissioner in 2006, he came in vowing to “protect the shield” and uphold the integrity of the NFL. This is not the case with how he handled the Rice debacle.
Goodell chose to turn a blind eye toward acknowledging what happened in the elevator between Rice and his fiancé. Goodell knew that Rice and Palmer entered the elevator together, and he knew they exited with an unconscious Palmer being dragged by Rice. So, what did the video TMZ released tell him that he didn’t already know? It shouldn’t have taken Goodell seeing Rice knock out his fiancé to bring the hammer down on Rice for his off the field actions.
Matters became murkier after ESPN released a report, which links not only Goodell, but also the Ravens organization, for excusing Rice of his behavior, agreeing on a lighter punishment for the Pro Bowl running back. The Ravens worried more about protecting a star player than covering their back on a potential public relations scandal.
Now, the Ravens find themselves in a stickier situation with the public than if they would have cut Rice the second they caught wind of the situation. It’s obvious that the Ravens were attempting to exploit the relationship between team executives and Goodell to help keep the video of Rice quiet.
Goodell is no stranger to domestic violence cases in his time as commissioner. In 2014, six players have been arrested for domestic violence with the four cases of Adrian Peterson, Jonathan Dwyer, Ray McDonald, and Quincy Enunwa coming in the last month alone.
Along with the most recent arrests, 12 players who have been arrested for domestic violence suited up for their respective teams last Sunday.
The massive amount of cases has moved Goodell to implement a harsher domestic violence policy. A first offense warrants six games, while the second warrants a lifetime ban from the league.
Under this new policy, it would mean that players such as Bears Brandon Marshall, who has been arrested three times for domestic violence, would no longer be in the league.
This is a necessity that is long overdue in a league where the 87 domestic violence arrests over the last 14 years are the most of any category other than DUI’s, according to a USA Today database that tracks players’ arrests.
In a time when the NFL is already dealing with the issues of concussions, player safety, and massive rule changes angering the most dedicated fans, the issue of domestic violence adds to the poor image the NFL has built up in the past couple of years.
The NFL has to be careful with how they handle these issues or they may end up in a position similar to the one the MLB was in during the steroid era. Commissioner Selig was able to navigate his league through the black eye of his sport, and Goodell will have to do the same to save his legacy while leading a league that may just be too big to fail.
